A question of identity November 5, 2006
Posted by Mujahid Mustaqim in Advice, Concepts, StraightWay.16 comments
A resource I have long been impressed by is the Cyber Counselor section at Islam Online, possibly the biggest Islamic site out there. When I formed StraightWay with its website in 2002, IOL was almost the only place I could find existing resources on Islam and homosexuality, including both rulings and advice. I even enjoyed a short discussion with Dr. Nadia El-Awady, following a research she published there in 2003.
This is a recent question to the Cyber Counselor, with an answer by Hwaa Irfan, the section’s editor:
She kindly gave a link to our site, which I’m sorry to say we haven’t updated in a long time. That is set to change soon with a revamp – pray for us please. Some people have felt that this blog is too focused on critique, with not enough advice. That’s possibly true, but once we get the new site going, the balance should be just right, in sha’ Allah.
UPDATE: Here’s another one from IOL: “Fear of What I am Becoming”
Advocates of Change August 22, 2006
Posted by Mujahid Mustaqim in Concepts, StraightWay.4 comments
I just noticed that someone has added Eye on Gay Muslims to a list under the Wikipedia entry for: Ex-gay. The little description next to the link says: “Advocates Change for Gay Muslim’s”. Aside from the punctuation error, and the fact that we say we’re not “ex-gay”, I want to note something about our idea of change.
Change is something every one of us must seek and work for.
Change is central to being a successful human being.
Change is a journey with no end except the end of this life.
So for those people who read that person’s description of us “advocating change” to mean a switch from a supposed “homosexual orientation” to a “heterosexual orientation”: you’ve got it wrong. We advocate self-development, i.e. that people should set their goal for life, seeking Allah’s pleasure above all, and go for it.
Genetics and Morality May 29, 2006
Posted by Rasheed Eldin in Concepts, Islam, Responses.16 comments
I was just passed this dissertation on "Sexuality in Islam" [PDF] for comment. It was compiled by Heba Kotb MD towards her PhD at the American Academy of Clinical Sexologists.
What can I say? It seems to be a compilation of various materials, and is written informally, with religious exhortations included. What amazes me is that the section on homosexuality is lifted almost entirely from articles by Shabir Ally, Alia Amer and Bilal Philips. [Note also that, oddly, in several places it says "Allah" where it ought to read "Islam", "Qur'an" or "Muslims".]
Here we shall look at one particular argument, in fact written by Dr. Bilal Philips:
Islam considers homosexuality to be the result of a choice. It is inconceivable that Allah made people homosexuals then declared it a crime and prescribed punishments for it in both this life and the next. To accept such a proposition is to accept that God is unjust.
The Dangers of Denial May 22, 2006
Posted by Rasheed Eldin in Concepts, Shari'ah.6 comments
Have you seen on the train how some seats are reserved between stations, and those seats have a little slip of card placed in them so they are kept vacant for the relevant ticket-holders? Well, someone showed me such a slip today and asked if I could explain the following declaration:
Penalty for unauthorised removal of this label: £200
Penalty for unauthorised occupation of this seat: £50
Surely the act of sitting in the seat is a more serious matter than just taking away the slip of paper, and would naturally incur the greater fine? I tried to think of the logic of the train company, and short of asking them, I can only guess. Here's my idea, and the relevance to the blog will become clear soon!
Actions, Attractions and Personal Responsibility April 10, 2006
Posted by Mujahid Mustaqim in Advice, Concepts, Islam, StraightWay.8 comments
BY MUJAHID MUSTAQIM
Here is another of my early articles, following on from The Spirit of Al-Fatiha and Muslim Before Anything Else. Here, I emphasise the importance of distinguishing between actions and attractions, rather than remaining confused over "sexual identity" based on the notion of "orientation".
I refer to some Qur'anic verses and prophetic hadiths to establish whether people are responsible for what they feel (attractions) and what they do (actions). Basically, the answer is that one is not responsible for attractions, but entirely responsible for actions. However, the article shows that things are not necessarily as simple as that.
We’re not “ex-gay” April 4, 2006
Posted by Rasheed Eldin in Concepts, Ex-Gay, Queer Muslims, Responses.7 comments
There are various people, including from religious backgrounds, who, becoming dissatisfied with the homosexual lifestyle, or rejecting it outright without acting on their same-sex attractions (SSA), take on the label “ex-gay“. For some people, that makes sense, in that they have lived the “gay” life and have since turned away. We just found that we have been added to a list of “ex-gay blogs”, even though we don’t identify ourselves that way!
Mujahid Mustaqim, founder of StraightWay, has always avoided this term, along with all the other eggs in the “orientationist” basket. Using words like “ex-gay” or even “heterosexual” are just as mistaken as using “gay”, “lesbian”, “bisexual” etc., if we maintain the philosophical position that people should not be categorised according to feelings, and that “sexual orientation” is an arbitrary (and mistaken) way of describing the empirical facts (which include that some people experience SSA to one degree or another).
Saying that you are “ex-gay” is, in a sense, admitting to having been once “gay”, i.e. affirming that such an identity is legitimate to speak of. Again, I say that while plenty of people hold that view, our understanding of Islam and its worldview leads us to the conclusion that SSA are not intrinsic to identity, and that in general, people should not be put into boxes according to whom they’re attracted to.
If we consider being “gay” as a whole package of feelings, actions and lifestyle, then using the term “ex-gay” can make sense but have a rather negative feel to it (why define yourself by your past?). If it refers just to feelings/attractions, then when does an “ex-gay” truly become “ex”? Not everyone overcomes their feelings completely; probably most people just can’t.
So, we disagree respectfully with the name choice of the person who set up the Ex-Gay Muslims discussion group, but it’s a good place to go for a chat anyway.
Love in Islam March 27, 2006
Posted by Rasheed Eldin in Advice, Concepts, Islam.2 comments
Following Yousef's recommendation in his comment below, let me direct you to a three-part audio lesson on "Love in Islam", by Sh. Abdallah Adhami.
It's featured at the SAKEENAH site and is in MP3 format, in three parts for download:
Part 1: Lecture
Part 2: Q&A; Part 3-Q&A
Shaykh Abdallah talks about love and the context by which it is applied in light of the Qur'an. Shaykh Abdallah also expands upon how love, when properly understood, can shape and define our deen within the scope of gender relations.
L, G, B and T February 18, 2006
Posted by Rasheed Eldin in Concepts, Homosexualists, Islam.8 comments
If you’ve been reading other articles here, you may have gathered by now that I have a problem with the idea of identifying people according to their sexual inclinations. I consider such feelings as something experienced by a person, not something that should define who the person is.
Here’s a brief sketch of how I perceive sexual attraction from a Muslim perspective. The norm that God has placed within His creation is the attraction between opposites in a pair, including between male and female humans. Thus the presence of opposite-sex attraction (OSA) is the base-line that does not demand explanation wherever it exists. As for same-sex attraction (SSA), it is a phenomenon that exists to varying degrees in many people, for one reason or another. So I believe we could ask in each case, “Why the presence of SSA?” – and whether or not we find the answer, there is a cause. That cause might even be genetic (I don’t believe so), but it is, in the wider scheme of nature, an aberration.
“WAIT,” I hear one of you shout, “Did you just call me an aberration?” Well no, I didn’t. I’m talking about same-sex attraction, and I don’t regard that as part of your innate identity. So I’m not even talking about you – don’t take things so personally! You may well disagree with me vehemently, but at least hear me out. For my part, I am ready to listen to you too.
Gay + Muslim = Gay Muslim? January 26, 2006
Posted by Rasheed Eldin in Concepts, Islam, Queer Muslims, Responses.add a comment
I responded to a commenter over at Jamal's Opinionated Voice, who stated that
if you are gay and are born into a Muslim family, you are by definition a ‘gay muslim’, since we use the term “muslim community” a lot in the west – even if a lot of those muslims might be lapsed muslims, or pick-and-choose muslims or devout muslims.
Since this is similar to many such comments I've seen, I reproduce my response here…
